The first ballet as part of the Bolshoi cinema livestream season, but the third ballet in Cineplex’s Ballet Season is La Sylphide.
I saw this in cinema two weeks ago. This was the first time I see this ballet in full. It isn’t performed live very often around me, and hasn’t been in the cinema livestream seasons yet. This ballet affected the history of ballet as it’s considered the first real “ballet blanc” and is the official start of the romantic ballet era. Because of this, I knew more about the history of the ballet and the storyline than some other ballets I’ve gone to see. I have to say, I really enjoyed having so much background on the ballet before seeing it. I felt that I really could appreciate the performance for it’s impact on the ballet world. As a quick overview, the concept of “ballet blanc”, or a white ballet, is where there is a scene with all of the dancers in white tutus, and there is a very ethereal look to the scene. Usually these dancers are ghosts, fairies, or some other form of supernatural spirit. We see this in Giselle, La Bayadère, Swan Lake, and even The Nutcracker.
As far as I could see, there was only one viewing of this ballet across cinemas. I bought my tickets the night before, and unluckily this meant that I was sat in the third row. As the Forum Cineplex is smaller, this wasn’t terrible seating. As usual, it was pretty busy, though the seating chart had said that everything further back was sold out, and it was only half full throughout the performance. I don’t know if people didn’t show up, or if the ticket purchasing was incorrect online, but I wish I could have been able to move further back.
La Sylphide is a quick two act ballet. I was in and out of the cinema in under 2 hours, including the 20 minute intermission. The storyline is pretty easy to follow along, and it has beautiful choreography with a lovely score. It is a great introduction to the romantic era of ballet. La Sylphide is also one of the first ballets where pointe work was integrated into the choreography, to show the lightness and etherealism of the spirits, instead of just being a cool trick. You can definitely see this in the choreography where the pointe work is largely balances and relevés, and there’s a general feeling of floating from the sylphs throughout the ballet, which all furthers the idea of the sylphs being light, airy and supernatural.
I would say that this ballet would be good to see within your first few performances. It doesn’t require a lot of background information, but is definitely benefitted by it. As usual, the Bolshoi had the lovely Katerina Novikova hosting, giving us a lot of background information on the performance, and short interviews with the dancers during the intermission. The theatre also provided a written synopsis of each scene and act throughout the show. One thing that I particularly love with the cinema livestream is that during the intermission the cameras are pointed into the lobby so we can see some of the audience members, and onto the stage where the dancers are warming up and marking upcoming choreography. I really like seeing the behind the scenes on stage, but also who is in the audience and what they’re wearing. It gives me some outfit inspiration for the next time I go see a ballet live, which is always fun.
The Bolshoi will be live-streaming in Cineplex theatres until June, and the schedule can be found here. Up next is Don Quixote, one of my personal favourites, on December 2 and 8.
If you missed La Sylphide, I definitely recommend taking a look at the other ballets coming up. They have a great season in cinema!